The lead for small animals is commonly formed from a small diameter woven or braided fabric or plastic line or "chain". It is looped about the neck of the animal and fastened by a keeper more or less fixedly in place. The known fastener comprises a saddle member having a pair of integral, opposed, upwardly extending longitudinal walls and a base which is of a size so that it fits in the saddle between the walls. Both the saddle and base are provided with a hole which when aligned permits a fully threaded screw to be is passed therethrough and to which a threaded acorn-shaped or dome-shaped nut is screwed to clamp the base and saddle to each other. The pet lead is looped between the base and saddle and is retained therein by the clamping action to form a collar for a pet.
Now, while this known fastener adequately performs when used in combination with a woven or braided pet lead, it also exhibits certain disadvantageous drawbacks. For example, the device includes the four described elements and when one disassembles the device to change the lead or modify the size of the pet lead, it is awkward to reassemble, especially with respect to placement of the threaded nut on the threaded screw. Moreover, the screw and nut are easily misplaced when assembling and disassembling the device, the nut being especially subject to becoming lost each time it is loosened.
A further disadvantage lies in the fact that the nut is a small metal part, provided with an internal screw thread, and therefor quite costly to fabricate, and expensive for the customer to replace.
There exists, therefore, a need for the provision of devices of the type described which do not present such disadvantages. The present invention fulfills such a need.